Supportive Housing

In 2007, Los Angeles County launched a pilot program, Project 50, intended to provide "housing first" — no treatment or sobriety required — to the worst 50 cases of homelessness on skid row. A recent series in The Times profiled several of the new tenants and their caretakers. To readers familiar with the story of Nathaniel Ayers, the occasional subject of Steve Lopez's columns and of a subsequent book and film, the portraits were unsurprising. The lives of the tenants were tragically derailed by unyielding addictions and terrifying, untreated psychoses, and the train wreck is tough to watch.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday made it easier for developers of housing for the homeless to get access to millions of dollars in city funds when they agree to include public storage, toilets and laundry facilities for people who remain on the streets. The policy passed unanimously after council members rejected a proposal  by Councilwoman Jan Perry that would have stripped out some of the incentives for housing intended to serve those who have been chronically homeless.

In just over a year, more than 3,000 of Los Angeles County's most entrenched street dwellers and homeless veterans have moved into permanent homes, exceeding the targets of an ambitious plan launched by business and philanthropy leaders. But backers of the effort warn that more people are ending up on the streets as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan and the region's economic difficulties persist. Surveys conducted early last year found that the number of homeless veterans in the county had increased from about 7,400 to more than 9,100 in two years.

A quarrel at the Los Angeles City Council over strategies for helping homeless residents on Friday ignited a political debate over Councilman Eric Garcetti's frequent absences from meetings during his run for mayor. The council's 10 a.m. meeting came to a halt after Council members Richard Alarcon and Jan Perry got into a dispute over efforts to encourage the installation of public restrooms and storage facilities at apartments that have been planned for the homeless. Alarcon stormed out before a vote could be held on a plan to provide $18 million for construction of housing for the "chronically" homeless, or those considered most difficult to house.

The Venice Community Housing Corp. has bought a $3.6-million apartment building that will be used to provide affordable housing for people who are now homeless. The city of Los Angeles contributed $750,000 toward the purchase. The agency also got a loan from the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national nonprofit that helps communities create permanent housing with services. St. Joseph Center will provide supportive services for the residents. Of the 20 units, 19 will be made available as affordable housing for homeless individuals.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday made it easier for developers of housing for the homeless to get access to millions of dollars in city funds when they agree to include public storage, toilets and laundry facilities for people who remain on the streets. The policy passed unanimously after council members rejected a proposal  by Councilwoman Jan Perry that would have stripped out some of the incentives for housing intended to serve those who have been chronically homeless.

Hundreds of advocates working to end homelessness pressed Congress on Friday to find federal money to move people off the streets by building 150,000 special housing units. The advocates said additional "supportive housing" -- or residences with ready access to vocational training and services for mental illness and addiction -- would help realize the goal President Bush announced last year of ending chronic homelessness within a decade. "It's worth it," said Carla Javits, president of the Corp.

Confronted with the worst regional homeless problem in the nation, Los Angeles city housing officials hope to build thousands of heavily subsidized apartments for the most intransigent street people, placing them in buildings that will also offer medical care, counseling and job training. That model, known as "permanent supportive housing," is not a novel one: Los Angeles County already has about 5,000 supportive housing units.

So what exactly am I doing on Capitol Hill? I'm at a congressional briefing, which wouldn't be entirely out of the ordinary, except that I'm not taking notes and not planning to beat up on anyone. I'm the keynote speaker. Yes, friends, the republic is in trouble.

FOR MORE THAN a decade, a national advocacy group for the homeless has held memorial services across the country on the first day of winter to commemorate those who died on the streets. Last week's service in San Julian Park at the gated heart of skid row drew Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said the point isn't just to remember the homeless, it's also to "recognize the obligation, the responsibility we share for one another."

In just over a year, more than 3,000 of Los Angeles County's most entrenched street dwellers and homeless veterans have moved into permanent homes, exceeding the targets of an ambitious plan launched by business and philanthropy leaders. But backers of the effort warn that more people are ending up on the streets as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan and the region's economic difficulties persist. Surveys conducted early last year found that the number of homeless veterans in the county had increased from about 7,400 to more than 9,100 in two years.

The GOP-led House is expected to push through a payroll tax cut package Tuesday that is dead on arrival in the Senate as Congress races a year-end deadline to keep the tax break for 160 million American workers that expires at the end of the year. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) appears poised to win over reluctant rank-and-file Republicans who have opposed keeping the payroll tax break, which gives workers an additional $1,000 on average. To attract votes, the package was sweetened with GOP priorities -- key among them, a provision to advance the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Los Angeles has more homeless people than any other city in the nation, and among them, more homeless veterans — an estimated 7,000 on any given day. The city also has a sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs treatment facility for former servicemen and women, located on a 387-acre compound in West Los Angeles. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone to court to force the VA to put more of that acreage to use for homeless veterans. In a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of four homeless veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments, the ACLU claims that the department is violating the property's deed by not providing the combination of housing and treatment that battle-scarred vets need.

Los Angeles County supervisors agreed Tuesday to give priority to the most hard-core street dwellers when allocating housing and other homeless services. "These are the people who need help the most," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who proposed the motion with Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. "They are the ones who have been on the streets the longest amount of time.... [They] are the most in danger of getting sick and dying on the streets. " The proposal, adopted unanimously, is part of a plan recommended by business leaders that aims within five years to put a permanent roof over the heads of all homeless veterans and the chronically homeless by making more efficient use of existing resources.

In 2007, Los Angeles County launched a pilot program, Project 50, intended to provide "housing first" — no treatment or sobriety required — to the worst 50 cases of homelessness on skid row. A recent series in The Times profiled several of the new tenants and their caretakers. To readers familiar with the story of Nathaniel Ayers, the occasional subject of Steve Lopez's columns and of a subsequent book and film, the portraits were unsurprising. The lives of the tenants were tragically derailed by unyielding addictions and terrifying, untreated psychoses, and the train wreck is tough to watch.

Ruben Reyes is making himself at home in his new apartment on San Pedro Street in downtown L.A., setting out his phone and his CDs, planning to shop for food and cleaning supplies. After years on the streets — including San Pedro — as well as in shelters and in prison, and after just one night in the Charles Cobb Apartments, Reyes, 31, says he "feels like a king." "It's nice, it's gorgeous," he said, sitting on the bed — a bed designed, along with the nightstand and dresser, to fit the small apartment and to be durable, but also to be as appealing furniture designed for people with money to spend.

Los Angeles has more homeless people than any other city in the nation, and among them, more homeless veterans — an estimated 7,000 on any given day. The city also has a sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs treatment facility for former servicemen and women, located on a 387-acre compound in West Los Angeles. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone to court to force the VA to put more of that acreage to use for homeless veterans. In a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of four homeless veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments, the ACLU claims that the department is violating the property's deed by not providing the combination of housing and treatment that battle-scarred vets need.

A quarrel at the Los Angeles City Council over strategies for helping homeless residents on Friday ignited a political debate over Councilman Eric Garcetti's frequent absences from meetings during his run for mayor. The council's 10 a.m. meeting came to a halt after Council members Richard Alarcon and Jan Perry got into a dispute over efforts to encourage the installation of public restrooms and storage facilities at apartments that have been planned for the homeless. Alarcon stormed out before a vote could be held on a plan to provide $18 million for construction of housing for the "chronically" homeless, or those considered most difficult to house.

Ken Genser, Santa Monica mayor and longtime city councilman, died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications from a long illness, his sister, HaRa Beck said. He was 59 and had been in the hospital since October. Genser served on the City Council since 1988 and was elected mayor three times by the council. "The city was his life. He dedicated all of his energies to the people of Santa Monica," Councilman Richard Bloom said. "His signature issue was affordable housing.

Ninety-seven-year-old Bessie Mae Berger was living in a car with her two sons six weeks ago when comedian Kevin Nealon encountered them at a Hollywood gas station. Nealon, who was on his way to perform at the Laugh Factory, bought a tank of gas for their 1973 Chevrolet Suburban before heading off to work. Berger and sons Larry Wilkerson, 60, and Charlie Wilkerson, 62, had been parking nightly on Venice Boulevard after losing their home in Palm Springs and failing to find a place to stay in Northern California.